Ruman Shana-Diya Siddique set to tie the knot
The invitation cards are ready and are being distributed. Abdul Gafur Shana doesn’t have a moment to spare. How can he? His youngest son is about to get married!
His youngest son is one of the most recognisable figures in the country’s sporting sector– Ruman Shana. Ruman, who has won gold medals for Bangladesh in archery in international meets, is tying the knot with a person he has known for a long time. His soon-to-be life partner is none other than Diya Siddique, the biggest name in woman’s archery in Bangladesh.
They are about to get married on 5 July at Diya’s hometown Nilphamari.
Right before the wedding bells ring, the duo formed a partnership with bow and arrows in hand as well when they competed in the recurve mixed event in the 14th National Archery at the Shahid Ahsan Ullah Master Stadium in Tongi on Saturday.
In the final, however, they lost to the team of Mishad Pradhan and Famida Sultana from BKSP and had to settle for the silver medal.
Had they won gold, it would’ve been Diya’s third gold medal in this year’s National Archery. Earlier, she won gold in the recurve singles’ and team events. Ruman and Diya’s team Bangladesh Ansar were crowned champions in the meet with five gold medals and a silver.
Although Ruman couldn’t win the gold medal with his soon-to-be spouse, it was a memorable day for him as he won the gold medal in the recurve men’s singles’ event for the first time since 2017.
On Saturday’s final, Ruman gave BKSP’s Mishad no chance, beating him by 6-0 points. Ruman was extremely pleased after winning gold, “I was champion in the recurve singles’ event from 2013 to 2017. I couldn’t become champion from 2018-22. Becoming champion after so long feels really great. You can’t compare the feeling of becoming a champion in the national event with anything else.”
Ruman couldn’t win gold in the mixed recurve and men’s singles’ event. He was under pressure after missing two gold medals. But Ruman put those disappointments aside and said, “Actually, in archery you need luck to favour you. Both Diya and I tried to give our best. Luck wasn’t on our side. Someone will win the final, the others will lose, that’s just how it goes.”
Ruman is about to begin the next chapter of his life. His father Gafur spoke with Prothom Alo on the phone from Khulna and said, “We are really happy, our son is getting married. All preparations for the wedding are done. Nilphamari is quite far away from here. We have booked train tickets. In two groups, 36 guests from the groom’s side will go to Nilphamari. We will start from Khulna on 4 July on train. The wedding will happen at noon on 5 July. The wedding reception will take place on 8 July.”
Diya was happy to have a fellow archer as her life partner, “Marriage won’t be a burden for me. I’ve just won two gold medals in the national meet right before the wedding ceremony. As life partners, we will support each other.”